Young people today
Statistics on young people’s lives
Contents
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Demographic and family circumstances
Family circumstances
3.0 Education
Attendance and Behaviour at School
Attainment at 16
Participation post-16
Attainment at Age 19
4.0 Health and wellbeing
Subjective wellbeing
Mental health
Bullying
Teenage pregnancy
Substance misuse
Crime
5.0 Participation in society
Out of school activities
Volunteering and civic engagement
Attitudes towards society
6.0 Perceptions of young people
DfE Youth Research Team
July 20111.0 Introduction
1.1This paper sets out some key facts and figures about young people today. In
doing so it illustrates that young people are an extremely diverse group experiencing a range of different family, economic, social and cultural circumstances. The paper also highlights the wide range of issues facing young people and the variety of activities that they are involved in. Although a minority of young peopleare engaged in risky, problem behaviours it is clear that young people also take part in a range of pro-social activities and make a positive contribution to society.
1.2 Wherever possible the evidence below relates to teenagers (13-19) in England. However, operating within the constraints of existing data sources, it is not always possible to present findings for this specific age group or for young people in England (as opposed to Britain or the UK). Nevertheless, it should be possible to build a picture of what life is like for young people today. Where data are available the paper seeks to place the findings for England/UK in an international context and to look at trends over time.
1.3The rest of the paper proceeds as follows. Section 2 presents some background information on the demographic characteristics and family circumstances of young people. Section 3 briefly considers some of the main indicators of educational performance including Key Stage 4 attainment, school attendance, and activities post 16. Section 4 looks at wider health and wellbeing including:self reported well being/overall life satisfaction, substance misuse, teenage pregnancy, youth crime, mental health, and bullying. Section 5 looks at young people’s engagement in pro-social activities including out of school activities, volunteering and other forms of civic engagement. Finally, Section 6 looks at how young people are perceived in society.
2.0 Demographic and family circumstances
2.1 In 2010 there were 4.5m 13 to 19 year olds in England, 2.3m boys and 2.2m girls. This age group make up almost one in 10 (9%) of the total population.[1]
Table 1Number of young people in England, 2009
Age / Boys (000s) / Girls (000s) / Total (000s)13 / 313.8 / 299.6 / 613.4
14 / 311.9 / 297.8 / 609.7
15 / 316.5 / 298.7 / 615.2
16 / 325.6 / 307.4 / 633.0
17 / 332.8 / 313.3 / 646.0
18 / 347.6 / 327.1 / 674.7
19 / 360.0 / 337.5 / 697.4
Source: ONS Population estimates
2.2The number of young people in the population is falling. The number of 13 to
19 year olds in England fell from 4.6m in 2005 to 4.5m in 2009 and is predicted to fall further, to 4.2m by 2015.[2] This decline in the number of 13 to 19 year old is occurring whilst the overall population continues to increase (from 50.5m in 2005 to 52.2m in 2009, predicted to reach 54m in 2015).
2.3In 2009, one in seven 15-19 year olds in England was from a non-white ethnic
background.[3]
Table 2 Number of 15-19 year olds in England by ethnic group, 2009
Ethnic group / Number / % of totalWhite British / 2.7m / 86%
White Other / 100,000 / 3%
Mixed / 101,000 / 3%
Asian / 224,000 / 7%
Black / 105,00 / 3%
Other / 44,000 / 1%
Total / 3.3m / 100%
Source: ONS Population estimates by ethnic group mid-2009
2.4The majority of young people (63%) identify with a religion whilst 37% say
they have no religion. 38% of young people are Christian and 11% are Muslim.[4]
2.512% of pupils in state funded secondary schools have English as an
additional language.[5]
2.621% of pupils in state funded secondary schools are classed as having
special educational needs, 2% with statements and 19% without.[6]
2.716% of 11 to 15 year olds and 6% of 16 to19 year olds in state funded
secondary schools are eligible for Free School Meals.[7]
Family circumstances
2.8 In 2010 63% of dependent children in the UKlived in a married couple household, 13% living in cohabiting households and 24% in single parent households.[8]
2.9In the first wave of the UK household longitudinal study, 57% of 10 to 15 year
olds in the UK lived with both biological parents, 29% lived in single parent households, 13% lived in step-families and 2% lived with neither biological parent.[9]
2.10There were 24,900 looked after children in Englandaged 10 to 15 and 13,800
aged 16 and over as at 31 March 2010. 10 to 15 year olds accounted for 39% of all looked after children whilst young people 16+ accounted for a further 21%.[10]
2.11At age 18, 26% young people regularly provide unpaid care for either their
own child, another child (to whom they may or may not be related) or another person aged 15 or over. 6% provide unpaid care for an ill, disabled or elderly relative or friend aged 15 or over.[11]
2.1230% of children aged 10-15 and 30% of dependent children 16-19 live in poverty (defined as living in a household with an income less than 60% of contemporary median income, after housing costs). This compares with 31% of children 0-4 and 26% of children 5-10 who live in poverty. The proportion of 10-15 year olds has increased from 28% in 2006/07 whilst the proportion of 16-19 year olds living in poverty has increased from 27%.[12]
3.0 Education
Attendance and Behaviour at School
3.1In 2009/10, 7% of half day sessions in state funded secondary schools were missed due to absence. A small minority of secondary pupils (4%) are classed as persistent absentees. Persistent absentees account for 16% of all absences, including 40% of all unauthorised absences (Chart 3.1).[13]
3.2Persistent absenteeism is more common among pupils eligible for FSM, 10% of whom were persistently absent 2009/10. Persistent absenteeism increases with age; 7% of Year 11 pupils were persistent absentees, compared with 5% in Year 10 and 4% in Year 9.[14]
3.3 In 2008/09 there were 307,840 fixed term exclusions and 5,700 permanent
exclusions from state funded secondary schools. 9% of secondary pupils were subject to fixed-term exclusion and 0.2% were subject to a permanent exclusion.[15]
3.4 Across all age groups, exclusions are significantly more common among boys
than girls. Boys account for 75% of all fixed term exclusions and 78% of permanent exclusions. Children who are eligible for FSM are almost thee times more likely to receive a fixed term or permanent exclusion than children not eligible for FSM.[16]
Source: National Pupil Database
Attainment at 16
3.5In the academic year 2009/10 55% of pupils in maintained secondary schools achieved 5+ GCSEs A*-C including English and Maths at the end of KS4, up from 51% in 2008/09. 76% achieved 5+ GCSEs A*-C in any subject, up from 70% in 2008/09 (Chart 3.2).Attainment remains lower among pupils eligible for FSM, 31% of who achieved 5+ GCSEs A*-C including English and Maths in 2009/10.[17] Attainment at the age of 16 is the best predicator of later participation and attainment.
Source: National Pupil Database
Participation post-16
3.6Continuing to participate in education or training gives young people the chance to gain qualifications which can significantly increase their prospects of future employment and earnings – people with 2 or more A-Levels earn on average around 14% more than those without. Conversely, not being in education, employment or training at age 16-18 is associated with negative outcomes – by the age of 21, young people who were NEET were more likely than their peers to be unemployed, earn less, receive no training, have a criminal record and suffer from poor health or depression.[18]
3.7In 2010, 70.6% of 16 to 18 year olds in England were in full time education whilst a further 13.8% were in another form of training (a record total of 84.4% in education or training), 8.3% were in employment without training, leaving 7.3% not in education, employment or training (Chart 3.3).[19]
3.8The profile of young people’s participation varies significantly by age. At age 16, 97.1% of young people were in education or training, with just 2.3% NEET. The corresponding figures for 17 year olds were 89.9% in education or training with 6.8% NEET. For 18 year olds the figures were 67.5% and 12.4% (Chart 3.4).[20]
Source: DfE
Source: DfE
3.9These figures represent a snapshot of young people’s participation at one point in the year. Over time, many young people will spend a short period not in education, employment or training, often because they are moving between courses or options, but relatively few spend the long period NEET that is associated with a significant risk of later negative outcomes. In the two years following compulsory education, nearly a third of young people experience at least one period NEET, such as over the summer or between courses, but only one in twelve are NEET for 12 months or more.[21]
3.10The group of young people who are not participating is very diverse and recent research has identified three overall segments of the group. Around two fifths of these young people are generally open to learning – more of this group have achieved Level 2 and they are likely to return to education or training in the future. A further fifth of young people NEET are undecided, generally not facing significant personal problems but dissatisfied with the support and opportunities available. The final two fifths are sustained NEET – they are more likely to have had negative experiences at school, to have truanted and to have left school with few or no qualifications.[22]
3.11There is a strong link between young people NEET and other vulnerable groups. The most important factor in determining young people’s likelihood to become NEET is the level of qualification at age 16 – data from LSYPE showed that 37% of 17 year olds with no qualifications were NEET compared with 8% overall. There are also links with vulnerable groups such as teenage parents – 11% of 16-18 year olds NEET are teenage mothers or pregnant young women. There is also a social class gradient with 14% of young people from routine manual households NEET at 17 compared with 3% of young people from professional and managerial households.[23]
3.12Britain has a relatively high proportion of young people not in education or work post compulsory education compared with other developed countries. The UK ranked 28 out of 33 OECD countries in terms of the proportion of 15 to 19 year old men not in education or work in 2008. At that point, 9% of UK men and 8.6% of UK women aged 15-19 were not in education or work, compared with OECD averages of 7.1% for men and 8.1% for women.[24]
Attainment at Age 19
3.13 Rising participation rates have helped to increase the proportion of young people attaining qualifications by the age of 19. In 2010, 81.5% of 19 year olds were qualified to Level 2 and 54% werequalified to Level 3. There remains an attainment gap between men and women (85% of women are qualified to Level 2 compared with 78% of men) and between those eligible for FSM in Year 11 and those not (81% of the latter are qualified to Level 2 or above compared with 61% of the former).[25]
4.0 Health and wellbeing
Subjective wellbeing
4.1A 2007 UNICEF report suggest that children in the UK have lower subjective wellbeing than their counterparts in other countries. On the basis of a composite measure (encompassing self-rated health, enjoyment of school and life satisfaction) the UK ranks bottom out of the 20 OECD countries rated.[26] However, looking at more recent data from the HBSC 2005/06 life satisfaction among 11 to 15 year olds in England appears broadly comparable to the international average (Chart 4.1). The majority of young people report high life satisfaction (scoring themselves 6 or higher on a 10 point scale). Interestingly, life satisfaction among girls, but not boys, appears to decrease with age.[27]
Source: HBSC 2005/06
4.2The UK household longitudinal study (wave 1 2009-10) also contains questions on life satisfaction and again finds that 10-15 year olds in the UK generally have high levels of life satisfaction. Rating their satisfaction on a 7 point scale, the mean rating is 5.9 with 70% of young people rating their satisfaction at 6 or 7. Only 4% of young people rated their satisfaction 3 or lower.[28]
4.3Life satisfaction was higher among those who lived with both biological parents and declined the more children there were in the household. There was no significant variation in satisfaction by gender or age.[29]
4.4According to the Tellus Survey the most common things that young people worry about are: school work and exams (51%), what to do after Year 11 (43%), friendships (31%), appearance (30%), and parents/family (29%).[30]
4.5The Tellus Survey also found that 85% of children said that they had at least someone they could talk to if they were worried, with only 3% saying they had no one they could talk to. 64% said they could talk to their parents, 66% said they could talk to their friends and 40% said they could speak to another adult.[31]
Mental health
4.6A 2004 study found that one in 10 young people aged 11-16 has a clinically diagnosed mental disorder. Emotional disorders, notably anxiety disorders, are the most common problem among girls with 6%of girls aged 11-16 diagnosed as having an emotional disorder (compared with 4% of boys). Conduct disorders are the most commonamong problem boys with 8%of boys11-16 diagnosed as having a conduct disorder (compared with 5% of girls).[32]
4.711 to 16 year olds living in lone parent families are more likely to suffer from some form of mental disorder (19% compared with 9% in couple households) as were children from less affluent households (21% in households where household income was less than £100 compared with 6% in households with income above £770).[33]
4.8Half of those with lifetime mental health problems first experience symptoms by the age of 14,and three-quarters before their mid-20s.[34]
4.9Self-harming in young people is not uncommon; 10–13% of 15–16-year-olds have self-harmed.[35]
Bullying
4.10According to the 2009/10 British Crime Survey (BCS), 22 per cent of children aged 10 to 15 reported being bullied in a way that frightened or upset them in the last year. Younger children aged 10 to 12 (26%) were more likely to have experienced bullying than older children aged 13 to 15 (18%).[36]
4.11The majority of bullying took place at school with 90% of those being bullied saying that at least some bullying took place at school. 30% of those being bullied said they were bullied every day.[37]
4.12Six per cent of all children aged 10 to 15 reported being cyber-bullied (having been sent unwanted and nasty emails, texts or messages or having something nasty posted about them on a website) in the year prior to interview, that is, a quarter (27%) of children who had been bullied.[38]
4.13Analysis of the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) places the incidence of bullying somewhat higher than BCS.[39] According to LSYPE 47% of 14 year olds, 41% of 15 year olds and 29% of 16 year olds had been bullied in the past year.[40]
4.14According to LSYPE, the most common form of bullying was name calling, experienced by 31% of 14 year olds. 20% of 14 year olds said that they had been subject to actual violence whilst 18% reported that they had been threatened with violence.
4.15Girls were more likely to experience bullying than boys. Being from a non-white ethnic backgrounds, having a disability or SEN, having been in care, or living in a single parent family were also risk factors for being a victim of bullying.[41]
4.16Bullying can have a negative effect on young people’s wellbeing. Analysis of LSYPE to identify vulnerable groups found that there was a clear relationship between whether a young person reported at age 14/15 that they had been bullied in the previous twelve months and the likelihood of them being identified as vulnerable. Victims of bullying had twice the odds of being included in the“emotional health concerns” group and the “risky behaviours” group and over one and a half times the odds of being included in the “substance misuse”group.[42]
Teenage pregnancy
4.17In 2009, the provisional under-18 conception rate for England was 38.2 per 1,000 young women aged 15-17. There were 35,966 conceptions to under 18s in 2009. Half (49%) of conceptions to under 18s end in abortion.[43]
4.18The under 18 conception rate has fallen to the lowest level in 30 years and is down 18% since 1998 (Chart 4.2). However, the rate of births to teenage mothers in England remains high compared with other countries; the UK ranks 33rd out of 39 OECD countries in terms of teenage fertility rates.[44]
Source: ONS conception statistics
4.19Certain young women are more likely to become pregnant as teenagers than others. Analysis of the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) points to an association between attainment at Year 11 and instances of pregnancy by age 18. A third (33%) of those with between one and four GCSEs at grades D to G had been pregnant at least once, compared with 6% of those with eight or more GCSEs at grades A* to C.[45] A survey of teenage mothers showed that disengagement from education often occurred prior to pregnancy, with less than half attending school regularly at the point of conception. Dislike of school was also shown to have a strong independent effect on the risk of teenage pregnancy.[46]
4.20Other factors which appear to be associated with increased likelihood of pregnancy are being eligible for free school meals at age 16, having parents who are in more routine occupations and having parents who had lower educational attainment.[47]Children of teenage parents are around twice as likely to become teenage parents themselves.[48] Teenage conception rates continue to be higher, on average, in more deprived areas. Among the 20% most deprived local authorities in England, the average under-18 conception rate 2007-09 was 56.3 conceptions per 1,000, compared with 28.4 per 1,000 in the 20% least deprived local authorities.[49] However, nearly all LAs (138 out of 152) contain at least one ward amongst the 20% highest rate wards in the country.[50]
Substance misuse
Alcohol
4.21In 2009 around one in five (18%) of pupils aged 11 to 15 in reported drinking alcohol in the last week, down from 26% in 2001(Chart 4.3).[51]
Chart 4.3 Drinking in the last week by young people 11 to 15 in England, 2001 to 2009
Source: Smoking, Drinking and Drugs Survey 2009
4.22The proportion of 11 to 15 year olds who reported that they drank alcohol at least once a week has decreased since 2001 (12% in 2009, compared with 20% in 2001).[52]
4.23Drinking alcohol in the last week was found to be associated with other risk-taking behaviours among young people: smoking, drug use, and truancy.[53]Regular drinking by age 14 is associated with a penalty of three GCSE grades at 16.
4.24In 2007, 42% of men and 32% of women aged 16 to 24 drank to hazardous levels i.e. levels presenting a risk of psychological or physical harm. Hazardous drinking was more prevalent among this age group than among adults generally (33% of men 16+ and 16% of women were hazardous drinkers). [54]